Brief History Jöns Jacob Berzelius, a physician by training, first coined the term "organic chemistry" in 1807 for the study of compounds derived from biological sources. Until the early 19th century, naturalists and scientists observed crucial differences between compounds that were derived from living things and those that were not. Chemists of the time noted that there appeared to be an essential but inexplicable difference between the properties of the two types of compounds. The life force theory (sometimes called "vitalism") has therefore been proposed (and widely accepted) as a means of explaining these differences. Vitalism proposed that there was something called a “vital force” that existed in organic matter but did not exist in any inorganic matter. {text:bookmark-start} {text:bookmark-end} Friedrich Wöhler is widely considered a pioneer of organic chemistry due to his synthesis of the biological compound urea (a component of urine in many animals) using this now called "the Wöhler synthesis." Wöhler mixed silver or lead cyanate with ammonium nitrate; this was supposed to produce ammonium cyanate as a result of an exchange reaction, according to Berzelius' theory of dualism. Wöhler discovered, however, that the end product of this reaction is not ammonium cyanate (NH4OCN), an inorganic salt, but urea ((NH2)2CO), a biological compound. (Plus, heating ammonium cyanate turns it into urea.) Faced with this result, Berzelius had to admit that (NH2)2CO and NH4OCN were isomers. Until this discovery in 1828, chemists widely believed that organic substances could only form under the influence of the "vital force" present in the bodies of animals and plants. Wöhler's synthesis spectacularly proved this view wrong. Organic chemistry focuses on carbon and the subsequent movement of electrons in carbon chains and rings, as well as how electrons are shared with other carbon atoms and heteroatoms. Organic chemistry is primarily concerned with the properties of covalent bonds and nonmetallic elements, although ions and metals play essential roles in some reactions. The applications of organic chemistry are countless and include all kinds of plastics, dyes, flavors, perfumes, detergents, explosives, fuels and many other products. Read the ingredient list of almost any type of food you eat – or even your bottle of shampoo – and you'll see the work of organic chemists. {text:bookmark-start} {text:bookmark-end} Major advances in the field of organic chemistry Of course, no description of a text should be without at least one mention of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier.